AEW starlet Nick Wayne suffered his first loss in New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors (BOSJ) tournament as he fell to countryman Kevin Knight at Yoyogi 2nd National Gymnasium in Tokyo on Saturday night. The 19-year-old ROH World Television Champion had bested SHO, El Desperado and Robbie Eagles in his inaugural BOSJ campaign to lead B Block coming into the fourth day of the competition.
Two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Knight, 28, whose competing in New Japan’s flagship junior series for the second year in a row, defeated wonderkid Wayne with his UFO Splash in 12 minutes. Knight secured his first points in the Block in front of 1,857 fans after falling to MAO, Robbie Eagles and YOH on previous nights. Wayne cut a forlorn figure backstage during his post-match interview before being interrupted by Knight who offered words of encouragement to the teenager.
“He’s a hell of a kid,” said Knight. “He’s got heart, he’s got passion. We trained together when he was just 12. We used to take city buses together to do pre-show matches on local shows.”
Knight believes he’s one to watch in B Block and is looking forward to going one-on-one with CMLL star Titan on Sunday.
“I’m better than my record (1-3) suggests, I’ll keep showing up. I’m really looking forward to facing one of my favourite luchadors in the world, Titan. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Elsewhere, in A Block, social media sensation Ninja Mack attempted another Super Ninja Special but was thwarted by 2023 BOSJ winner Master Wato who outfoxed the American with his Vendaval to pick up the win in eight minutes. Also in A Block, Italy’s 2023 Super Junior Tag League winner Francesco Akira lost out to conniving veteran Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Akira was subdued with an inside cradle in seven minutes after Kanemaru spat whiskey in the face of the fast-rising junior.
Bullet Club War Dogs standout Clark Connors had the measure of stable mate Robbie X in a fast-paced A Block contest. Connors put away the Englishman with his cuthroat brainbuster called the No Chaser in eightminutes.
Kushida defeated Kosei Fujita in a compelling contest which saw both men remove their ring boots before the bell and wrestle barefoot as they showcased their respective MMA and amateur wrestling backgrounds. Kushida prevailed after hitting his Back to The Future small package driver– which was one of the first traditional pro wrestling techniques employed in the match – inside 15 minutes.
Dragon Gate star Dragon Dia recorded the upset of the night as the outsider conquered four-time BOSJ winner Hiromu Takahashi in the co-main event. Yoyogi Gymnasium erupted when the popular high-flyer stunned tournament favourite Takahashi after hitting his Reptilian Rana to pick up
the win after 13 minutes.
Over in B Block, Ryusuke Taguchi outfoxed YOH as his ass-based offence created the opening for him to see off the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion following his Dodon in just six minutes. SHO defeated TMDK’s well-rounded Australian Robbie Eagles, despite powerhouse Hartley Jackson ending Yujiro Takahashi’s interference, with his cross-armed package piledriver called the Shock Arrow in nine minutes. CMLL’s Titan toppled Taiji Ishimori with his Yahweh in 12 minutes. The masked Mexican produced a come-from-behind win as he countered Ishimori on the ground with a host of unorthodox submissions before tapping out his Japanese adversary with his Yahweh Immortal sub. In the main event, El Desperado made up vital ground in B Block by triumphing over DDT’s MAO with his Pinche Loco in 24 minutes. The contest looked poised for an early conclusion after MAO jumped a guardrailand hit a neckbreaker on the entrance way with the referee’s count at 19. Referee Hiroyuki Umino gave both men the benefit of the doubt and took a kick to the face for his troubles and was helped out of the ring. Both men quickly resorted to introducing plunder and took turns smashing plastic containers over each other’s heads before both men took a tumble from the top rope through the containers in the centre of the ring. The crowd chanted DDT at MAO’s request and then NJPW with a nudge from Desperado as NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi looked on in approval from the back of the venue. MAO showed his resistance as he kicked out of a Pinche Loco and looked to rally before the teak-tough Desperado, who was fighting at the same venue where he had his infamous battle with Jun Kasai in 2022, concluded the show with a final spinning sitout double underhook facebuster.
Best of the Super Jr. Standings:
Block A:
1. Kosei Fujita [6]
-. Dragon Dia [6]
3. Robbie X [4]
-. Francesco Akira [4]
-. Clark Connors [4]
-. Master Wato [4]
-. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [4]
-. KUSHIDA [4]
9. Hiromu Takahashi [2]
-. Ninja Mack [2]
Block B:
1. Nick Wayne [6]
-. Ryusuke Taguchi [6]
-. Titan [6]
4. Robbie Eagles [4]
-. MAO [4]
-. El Desperado [4]
-. SHO [4]
8. YOH [2]
-. Taiji Ishimori [2]
-. Kevin Knight [2]
